LSU Tigers

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Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis

TEAM PREVIEW

LSU basketball is back. And this time, the resurrection of the program figures to stick.

Saddled with NCAA scholarship reductions since the time he took over for former coach Dale Brown five years ago, coach John Brady has had a difficult time rebuilding the program and keeping it that way. To be sure, there were more than enough signs that Brady knew what to do -- most notably the Tigers’ SEC Western Division championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in 2000.

LSU was so fragile, however, that any combination of injuries, academic problems and player defections could derail the momentum of a league championship and return the Tigers right back to the bottom of the division. That’s exactly what happened in 2001, when LSU went from first to worst.

Last season, the usual assortment of personnel losses struck the program once more, but LSU was better equipped to handle them, ultimately winning 19 games and playing in the NIT.

Now, with the NCAA sanctions a distant memory, the Tigers are stocked with 13 scholarship players for the first time in Brady’s tenure.

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"For the first time since I’ve been here, we’ll have a nice, two-deep collection of talented players," Brady said. "It’s no longer on the coach now. It’s on the players. I’ve been in the situation where I’ve had seven or eight guys. One year it was five. They knew they were going to play. Now, if they don’t do certain things, if they don’t come to practice in a competitive way, I can put another guy in the game and not lose a lot. Which is the way good teams are constructed."

As Brady said, LSU doesn’t just have depth. There’s also talent on this roster, starting with 6-foot-7 senior Ronald Dupree (16.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.0 spg), who has earned his place among the SEC’s top players. Last season, he finished seventh in the league in scoring and second in rebounding en route to being chosen second-team All-SEC.

In his time at LSU, Dupree has played small forward, shooting guard, power forward and center, depending on how depleted the Tigers’ roster was at the time. Dupree has accepted his various assignments without complaint and done his job as well as Brady could have hoped.

"He’s proven he can score, and he’s proven he can rebound in this league," Brady said. "People are really trying to make a point to defend him. What I want him to do [this season] is not become spoiled. I want him to approach his senior year as if it was his first, play as hard as he can and continue to try and get better."

Dupree doesn’t have much room for improvement, but he could stand to work on his perimeter game (28 percent from 3-point range last season) and his free-throw shooting (55 percent).

Dupree isn’t the only senior stalwart in LSU's lineup. An equally battle-tested group of 6-foot-4 Torris Bright, 6-foot-7 Collis Temple III and 6-foot-8 Brad Bridgewater all return. The Tigers’ newcomers will have to work to dislodge them from their starting spots.

Bright (13.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.7 spg) has been equal parts brilliant and frustrating in his time at LSU. He still makes way too many turnovers versus assists (122 turnovers, 129 assists in 2001-02) and his decision making is suspect at times. But Bright also has won several games with his shooting (39 percent from 3-point range a year ago) and toughness.

Temple (13.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.2 apg) played in just 21 games last season after bravely battling foot and ankle problems for as long as he could. Temple underwent surgery during the season and should be at full speed by time the season begins. In Temple, LSU has another wiry, athletic scorer who can shoot the 3-pointer (37 percent) and make free throws (81 percent).

The 250-pound Bridgewater (6.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg) has overcome injury problems of his own, and enjoyed his best season in 2001-02.

In the absence of Temple, sophomore guard Antonio Hudson (10.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg) stepped up and had some great games last season. He was particularly effective in the SEC Tournament, where the Tigers advanced to the semifinals. Hudson scored 24 points against Vanderbilt in the first round, 23 in an upset of Georgia in the quarterfinals and 16 against Mississippi State in the semifinals. Hudson deserved his spot on the all-tournament team. Somehow he didn’t make it on to the All-SEC Freshman team. Had it been selected after the tournament, he’d have been a lock.

LSU has three other returning players in 6-foot-8 senior Thomas Davis (4.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg), 6-foot-2 sophomore Xavier Whipple (0.8 ppg, 0.7 rpg) and 6-foot-1 Charlie Thompson (1.5 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 1.2 apg), but each of them will have to battle for playing time with a host of newcomers.

The most decorated of the new Tigers is 6-foot-9, 240-pound junior Jaime Lloreda, who last season led Dixie State (Utah) Junior College to the NJCAA championship and was chosen that organization’s Division I Player of the Year. Lloreda is the third LSU signee in the past four seasons to be so decorated, following Kedrick Brown (who never played for LSU after being drafted by the Boston Celtics) and guard Lamont Roland.

Lloreda could be the best of that select group. He was the most valuable player in the junior college national tournament, averaging 23.5 points in four games. For the season, during which Dixie was 33-4, Lloreda, a native of Panama, averaged 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.

"I've been in it for a long time," Dixie coach Jeff Kidder told the Baton Rouge Advocate. "And he's the greatest player I've ever coached. He was my Secretariat this year. He was just the most incredible, durable player. He was the man. He blocked shots, rebounded, played defense."

Brady is particularly fond of Lloreda’s intensity and passion for the game.

"The thing I really like about Jamie is that he plays every play," Brady said.

Could Lloreda be the man to lead the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament?

"You never know in this crazy business," Brady told the paper. "I can't control a lot of this. But let me say this: He will be an impact player on our program. He's a difference-maker. We won 19 games this year. He could've got us four or five more."

Another newcomer who will shore up LSU’s once-scrawny front line is 6-foot-8, 240-pound junior Shawnson Johnson. Johnson was at LSU a year ago, but couldn’t gain eligibility after transferring from Lee (Texas) College. The Shreveport, La., native should be able to make significant contributions.

"He benefited from being able to practice with us a year ago," Brady said. "I see him being able to rebound in this league and block shots in this league and score when he needs to. He gives us a presence within six feet of the basket. I’m excited about what he can become."

Brady is also excited about having legitimate backup point guards who can perhaps put pressure on Bright and help elevate his game. Courtney Trask, a 6-foot-3 junior and Baton Rouge native, regains eligibility this year after transferring from Memphis. Trask made the Conference USA All-Freshman team in 1999-2000 after averaging 9.4 points and a league-leading 5.6 assists per game in conference play. He set a C-USA record with 89 assists in a conference season and also shot 44 percent from 3-point range in league games.

Trask -- who had Memphis career highs of 24 points (Houston), nine rebounds (Detroit) and 11 assists (Houston) -- averaged 5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a sophomore before deciding to return home. Trask was the Louisiana 3A Player of the Year as a senior at Parkview Baptist.

Three other newcomers join the team. Brady was happy to sign 5-foot-11 freshman combo guard Darrel Mitchell, who was chosen Louisiana’s Mr. Basketball after leading St. Martinsville High School to the 4A state championship. Mitchell averaged 24.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.9 steals in 2001-02.

"Darrel will be able to come in and play either the two or the one position, but we are looking at him to mainly be our point guard," Brady said. "He comes from a winning program, and he was coached by his father, who has done an excellent job."

LSU also looked to the Louisiana high school ranks for 6-foot-6, 240-pound freshman Tim Bush of Archbishop Shaw High School in New Orleans. Bush was considered by some recruiting analysts to be the best player in the state last season.

"He brings a tough, physical and competitive attitude to us that is important for success at this level," Brady said. "He understands winning, having accomplished that at Shaw and has been extremely well coached throughout his high school career."

The third newcomer is 6-foot-2 sophomore Tony Gipson, who played last season for Panola (Texas) Junior College, where he averaged 25 points. Gipson, a native of Farmerville, La., is the brother of former Arkansas guard Teddy Gipson.

"He will play a swing position for us, and he brings added depth to our perimeter," Brady said. "He has the ability to create and score the basketball while possessing outstanding quickness."

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